I like to read the meaningful poems and the ones I can relate to even if the poems are not talking about the objects in real life or something that exists. Unfortunately, the ones we had to read for our class are hard to understand. I think it is because I don’t know the place the poets are talking about. I have never been to the Brooklyn Bridge and never walked on it before, so, I think, that makes it hard for me to understand the poets’ description and opinions of Brooklyn Bridge and its surroundings. I also don’t have any idea to appreciate their descriptions and to agree or disagree with the poets’ views.
Today’s in-class writing activities helped a lot to appreciate Whitman’s and Reznikoff’s poems more. When we all had to read, I felt like I understood the Whitman’s poem a little more, for we all have different styles of reading and tones, so it was more like a conversation and somehow more understandable than before. When we had to interpret or response to the section 5 of Whitman’s poem line by line, I was amazed that I could actually write my own sentences for the lines of the poem that I regarded as incomprehensible initially. What Whitman intended to describe or say was more vivid, as I heard the other student’s response or translation of the lines. We all had different ways of approach for the first few lines, but at last we ended up with the same conclusion that the narrator found his own identity at the end that verse. The one we had to write our own story after choosing a line or words from Reznikoff’s poem was fun, too. It was really great to hear everyone’s creation. As no one judges or criticizes others’ writings, there is less pressure and some kind of freedom that I have never had in any of my English classes before.
